Key Points
- YouTuber TD BRICKS attempts to destroy $1,000 worth of LEGO sets by recreating various natural disasters.
- LEGO sets are constructed to withstand ‘outside interference’ and can simulate natural disasters.
- LEGO sets like the Ferris Wheel and Globe are well-made and can withstand tornadoes and meteor impacts.
- Coastal erosion and tornados are real threats, as demonstrated by the flood simulation and the Ferris Wheel set.
Over the years, people have done some pretty incredible stuff with LEGO pieces. Everything from building a LEGO set that can solve a Rubik’s Cube, a working LEGO hot rod, and even a functional LEGO 3D printer. It should come as no surprise that LEGO YouTubers will think outside the box to try and create new content that is both informative and entertaining.
It’s with this in mind that YouTuber TD BRICKS has built $1,000 worth of LEGO sets and will attempt to destroy them by recreating various natural disasters. This video easily shows how you can take some fan-favorite LEGO sets and repurpose them in a way nobody at LEGO would have ever intended.
The Video Setup
At first, there is no question this feels as if it’s little more than a clickbait video as TD BRICKS has performed plenty of stunt-like videos previously with LEGO. Two examples are using LEGO to build an army of minifigs or destroying some of the world’s largest sets like the Millennium Falcon.
You might think this is silly. However, as soon as you get into the content itself, you can actually see that it’s really quite amazing to learn how well LEGO sets are constructed to withstand what you might call “outside interference.”
Let’s dive deeper into some of the various sections of TD BRICKS’ video and see how well LEGO sets can help simulate a natural disaster.
LEGO Ferris Wheel Meets a Tornado
- Build a Ferris Wheel with colorful gondolas and a crank that makes it really spin
- Includes a ride operator, ice cream vendor, 4 children and 4 adults, plus over 2,000 fun LEGO elements like ice cream cones, balloons, pretzels, and more
- Ferris wheel measures over 23" high, 21" wide and 14" deep
- LEGO Creator Expert building toys are compatible with all LEGO construction sets for creative building
A working Ferris Wheel set, number 10247, starts off with TD BRICKS using a leaf blower from a distance to try and simulate a tornado. His first effort goes pretty much unscathed as only one piece flies off. It’s not until TD gets up close and personal to the set with the leaf blower that things really start to fly, literally. As expected, the leaf blower took down the LEGO set but not before it started to spin impressively fast, withstanding the initial forces of the pseudo-tornado.
LEGO City Coast Guard Meets the Ocean
- Features 2 water cannons, submarine launcher and radio antenna, helicopter, submarine, dinghy, lighthouse with rocks and 3 sharks
- Accessories include a dog, crab, 2 life preservers, 2 life jackets, walkie-talkie, hat with headphones and an ice cream
- Coast Guard Patrol boat and dinghy really float; deploy the submarine with a turning propeller; submarine measures over 1" high, 3" long, 2" wide
- Lighthouse with rocks measures 6" high, 5" wide, 2" long; dinghy measures 2" high, 7" long, 3" wide; shark measures 2" long, 1" wide, approx. 1" high
- Coast Guard Patrol Boat measures over 7" high, 15" long, 3" wide; helicopter measures over 2" high, 6" long, 2" wide
- Discontinued by LEGO
While the set may be discontinued, that did not stop TD BRICKS from attempting to simulate a hurricane using LEGO City Coast Guard set number 60014. As a floating system, it makes for the perfect opportunity to test out a storm, so off to the beach TD BRICKS goes.
Unsurprisingly, the LEGO City Coast Guard boat, which he put in the ocean, is no match for even the smallest waves. Whenever a real hurricane rolls into town, even small waves can destroy hundreds of boats at a time. Still, it’s pretty cool the main body of the boat stayed intact, even if it rolled over!
LEGO Globe Asteroid Attack
- Replica of a vintage Earth globe
- Authentic spinning movement
- LEGO Technic elements to recreate the classic, spinning axis and LEGO System bricks to replicate the spherical shape
- Glow-in-the-dark decoration
- Build vintage-style ship and compass icons to attach to the globe, and affix "The Earth" nameplate to the base for a finishing touch
- 2,585 pieces
If there is any lesson to be discovered during this portion of the video, the LEGO Globe set number 21332 is incredibly well made! Attempting to discover what would happen if a “meteor” hit the LEGO Globe, TD BRICKS’ result is not at all what you think may happen. Instead of creating any real damage to the globe as soon as a large piece of rock is dropped on it, the globe takes almost no damage.
While Hollywood movies would have you believe a meteor is going to lead to a total apocalypse, that’s only if the world isn’t as well designed as this incredible LEGO Globe set.
LEGO Concert Gets Flooded
Even though no specific LEGO set was used during this portion of the video, the attempt to see what happens to various LEGO minifigs during a flood is both amazing and frightening. In a pretty basic science experiment, TD BRICKS looked to see what would happen if a tiny lake started to overflow and whether it could break through a sand barrier.
As has been seen throughout history, the sand is no match for water, and within a few minutes the rising water breaks right through the barrier and quickly overwhelms the LEGO concert guests. Regardless of whether this was a good concert or one that carried on too long, this is a pretty amazing look at how basic science shows the real-world danger between rising water and sand barriers.
©Twin Design/Shutterstock.com
LEGO Minions Plane Meets Turbulence
- Toy plane building kit for kids
- 119 pieces
- 2021 model
- Minion minifigs included
For anyone who has ever flown in a plane before, you know that turbulence is a very real thing and can be pretty frightening at times. While a pilot may tell you that turbulence feels more dangerous from inside the plane than it really is, as a whole, TD BRICKS decided to test this theory using the LEGO Minions plane, set number 75547.
Built to celebrate The Rise of Gru film in 2022, TD BRICKS built the plane and then attempted to see if turbulence impacted LEGO in the same way it does a real plane. Well, the result was pretty much as expected as the LEGO plane broke apart as soon it hit the ground. Throwing any LEGO set down the street is unlikely to result in anything good, so this might not be a truly accurate representation of turbulence, but it sure was fun.
LEGO Castle Hit by Tsunami
- Packed with medieval details like a working drawbridge and secret passages
- Includes 22 minifigures including the King and Queen
- Measures 14 x 17 x 12
- Total of 4,514 pieces
With 4,514 pieces required to build this classic LEGO set, number 10305 is an epic build that will make every attempt to withstand a natural disaster. Real-world castles are built notoriously strong to keep out invading armies, so there is every reason to believe a LEGO castle would be among the most likely to withstand the elements.
TD BRICK’s first natural disaster attempt is a simulated tsunami using a giant bucket full of water and the LEGO Castle barely blinks at the face of disaster. The second attempt is slightly less impactful as a simulated hail storm using Orbeez has little impact. Fortunately, the third attempt shows that castles are not impervious to meteorites (or giant bottles of water). As soon as the water hits the castle, it immediately breaks apart into hundreds of pieces.
Wrapping Up
While not every natural disaster simulation in this video is true to life, there were definitely some diamonds in the rough. The lake and sand simulation is actually a very real look at how coastal erosion works by displacing the sand as water levels rise. This is a very real threat, and while dropping Orbeez on a castle won’t do any real damage, coastal erosion is very much a danger to millions around the world. The same goes for tornados, and the Ferris Wheel set is a prime example of how a storm can pop up out of nowhere and be a real threat to people just enjoying their day.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Sharomka/Shutterstock.com.
